Archery bow sight



y 15, 1969 D. J. PERKINS 3,455,027

' ARCHERY BOW SIGHT Filed Aug. 30, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EYE 70 TARGETDISTANCE E 5 7 6/Gh DISTANCE F I6. I Z 6 1 014M: reg a; RING INVENTORDAVID J. PERKINS BY MQ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,455,027 ARCHERYBOW SIGHT David J. Perkins, 3015 Benjamin,

Royal Oak, Mich. 48073 Filed Aug. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 664,529 Int. Cl.G01c 15/12, 21/04, 21/10 US. CI. 33-46 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Thisinvention relates to sighting devices and range finders for archery bowsand the like, and more particularly to a range finding device having aplurality of sighting apertures, each having an individual diametercorresponding to a selected target range and removably mounted on asupport which is attached to the midsection of the bow.

Description of the prior art Numerous devices have been suggested in theprior art for sighting a weapon in order to fire a projectile in a giventrajectory. The geometry on which such devices have been founded is wellknown and based on the concept that the image presented to the eye of atarget decreases in size as the distance from the eye to the targetincreases.

As early as 1852 a British patent disclosed a range finding device for amusket based on this geometry which employed a sighting plate having asefies of vertically aligned, progressively reduced sighting apertures.Variations of this concept have been disclosed in subsequent patents.Generally these variations are similar in that the sighting aperturesform a permanent part of their sighting plate. Such devices have provengenerally satisfactory for rifles and the like where the distance fromthe users eye to the sight is fixed by the rifle structure and does notsubstantially vary between individuals. Variations of these rifle rangefinders have been employed as a means for sighting archery bows. Ingeneral such prior .art sighting devices have not proven satisfactoryfor archers. Thus some archers who are expert on a target range wherethe target distance is known are often unsuccessful in hunting game onunfamiliar terrain where it is extremely diflicult to estimate thetarget distance.

The reason that the range finders of the prior art have not beensuccessfully employed by archers is because they do not permit thearcher to adjust the sights to accommodate his own physicalcharacteristics and the bow and arrow characteristics. Where the archermust match the target image with a sighting aperture or similar means ona range finder, the distance from the archers eye to the sight is acritical factor. Because of the variable physical dimensions betweendifferent archers, and various bow strengths, conventional range findershaving .a fixed setting between the sighting apertures are ineffective.

3,455,027 Patented July 15, 1969 Thus there are two requirements thatmust be satisfied by an effective sighting device for an archery bow.First the vertical distance between the sighting apertures must bepreset by the archer in order to reflect his own physicalcharacteristics .as well as the bow and arrow characteristics. Secondly,the supporting device on which the apertures are mounted must bevertically adjustable relative to the bow in order to reflect acondition requiring the adjustment of all the apertures such as a changein draw length, anchor point or the arrows e.g. wood vs. aluminumarrows. That is to say that a sight which is preset for a particulararcher will generally have adjustied from a position which is suitablefor an aluminum .arrow to a different position to accommodate woodenarrows.

It is the broad purpose of the present invention to provide an automaticsight and range finder for archery bows which permits the archer toadjust the range finder in order to accommodate his own physicalcharacteristics as well as the characteristics of the bow and thearrows.

SUMMARY The preferred embodiment of the present invention, which will besubsequently described in greater detail, is employed with a hunting bowfor shooting game such as deer or the like. A transparent, plastic,support plate is mounted on the mid-section of the how by a bracketwhich permits both vertical and horizontal adjustment with respect tothe bow. A set of sight rings are mounted on the support plate in avertical arrangement. The sight rings progressively increase in sizefrom the lowermost ring to the uppermost ring. Each set of sight ringsare chosen to accommodate a target of a given size. Thus for huntingdeer, a target size of fourteen inches which reflects the breast to backdimensions of a typical white tail deer is chosen.

The sight rings are formed on individual strips of transparent tapehaving an adhesive backing. This permits the archer to mount the sightrings on the transparent support plate so that the relative distancebetween the sight rings is associated with his own physical sightingcharacteristics. The sight rings are preferably each formed on the tapeas a circle having a predetermined inner diameter. However, the sightrings could as well take other geometrical shapes such as a triangle, asquare, an ellipse or the like which permit the archer to match theimage of the target with the ring.

The sight rings are normally pre-set by the archer by trial and error.This is achieved by taking a target of given size and moving away fromthe target until the targets image fills a given sight ring. The archerthen shoots an arrow at the target with the bow held at differentelevations until a trajectory is found which intersects the target. Byholding the bow at this elevation, the sight ring is secured on thetransparent support plate on an axis passing from the eye of the archerto the target. This is done with each of the sight rings. The archerthen can hunt .and select a target at an unknown distance by raising orlowering the bow until the target fills a particular sight ring. He thenknows that he is on target. It is to be understood, of course, that thearcher pulls the bow string rearwardly to similarly flex the bow for allranges. That is to say that the propelling force produced on the arrowby the bow string does not vary for different target ranges. Thus thearcher accommodates different ranges primarily by inclining the bow.

The preferred embodiment of the invention, is simply constructed andcomprises relatively few components and provides means for achieving ahigh degree of accuracy which has not heretofore been achieved byarchers employing other forms of range finders.

The rings could be die cut from an adhesive backed, colored plastictape.

Another embodiment of the invention takes the form of a series of steelrings, each independently and resiliently clamped on a mounting plate.The rings are movable relative to one another and individually separablefrom the mounting plate.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved combination sight and range finder for archery bows.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a range finderfor archery bows that can be preset to accommodate the individualcharacteristics of the archer.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rangefinder for archery bows and the like employing a series of verticallyaligned sighting apertures mounted on a supporting member so thattherelative vertical distance between the apertures can be adjusted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a range findingdevice for archery bows comprising a support member mounted on the bowwith a series of sighting apertures removably mounted on the supportmember so that the archer can re-adjust the relative distance betweenthe sighting apertures.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automaticrange finder for archery bows comprising a transparent support securedto the bow and a series of individually mounted sighting rings eachformed on a tape having an adhesive backing to permit the sighting ringsto be mounted on the support.

Still further objects and advantages of the present invention willreadily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertainsupon reference to the following detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The description refers to the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference characters refer to like partsthroughout the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of an archer with a conventional archerybow employing a range finder embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the range finder of FIGURE I mountedon the bow;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the preferred range finder as viewed from the sideopposite to FIGURE 2 and separated from the bow;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged plan view of the preferred view of the preferredrange finder;

FIGURE 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 66 of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of another form of a preferred sightingring.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings,FIGURE 1 shows an archer 10 drawing a bow string 12 which is secured tothe extreme ends of a conventional how 14. A range finding device,generally indicated at 16, is mounted adjacent the arrow rest of the how14 and enables the archer 10 by raising or lowering the bow to launch anarrow 18 in a trajectory which intersects a target.

The range finder 16 comprises a mounting plate 20, a bracket 22 and atransparent support plate 24. The mounting plate 20 is mounted bythreaded fasteners (not shown) to a lateral side of the bow 14. Thebracket 22 has a pair of horizontal adjusting slots 26 and a pair ofvertical adjusting slots 28. A pair of threaded fasteners 30 received bythe slots 26 mount the bracket 22 on the mounting plate 20 so that thebracket extends across the front of the bow 14.

The support plate 24 is secured to the bracket 22 by a pair of threadedfasteners 32 received by the slots 28 and 4 which permit the supportplate 24 to be vertically adjusted with respect to the mid-portion ofthe bow 14.

The support plate 24 is preferably rectangular in shape and formed of aclear, transparent, plastic material, A vertical sighting line 34 isscribed on the plate and provides means for the archer to mount a seriesof vertically aligned sighting rings 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44. The sightingrings progressively increase in size from the lowermost ring 44 to theuppermost ring 36 and are preferably each formed on an individual stripof transparent tape having an adhesive backing which permits the archerto mount each ring in a selected position on the support 24 and toremove each ring from the support 24.

Each of the rings has a predetermined diameter and each set of rings arenormally associated with a target of a given size. Thus in'the preferredembodiment, the. ring 36 has a .65 inch inner diameter; the ring 38 hasa .42 inch diameter, the ring 40 has a .32 inch diameter, the ring 42has a .28 inch diameter and the ring 44 has a .24 inch diameter. Thediameter of the rings each correspond to the image of a 14 inch targetat distances of 18, 28, 36, 42 and 49 yards when viewed by an archerhaving an eye to sight distance of 30 inches.

The archer normally pre-sets the rings 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44 on thesupport plate 24 at a relative vertical spacing accommodating his owneye to sight distance. Each ring is pre-set by employing a target havinga given diameter and moving away from the target until its image fillsthe particular ring which is being adjusted, and then raising orlowering the bow by a trial and error process until an arrow launchedfrom the bow travels in a trajectory which intersects the target. Whenthis trajectory has been determined, the ring is secured in place. Thearcher then moves away from the target until the targets image hasdiminished so that it fills the next smaller size ring and the trial anderror process repeated.

It will be noted that the support plate 24 can be vertically andhorizontally adjusted on the how 14. This permits the archer tore-adjust the position of the support plate when he uses arrows havingdifferent flight characteristics such'as when he switches from woodenarrows to aluminum arrows.

When the archer goes into the field to hunt game, the pre-set sightrings enable him to sight the bow when he encounters game without beingconcerned as to the particular range of the game. He merely raises andlowers the bow until the game fills a particular ring. If necessary hecan move toward and away from the game when the range is between a pairof rings or use the upper ring of a pair and shoot high or use the lowerring of a pair and shoot low.

It is to be understood that although the sight rings employed in thepreferred embodiment have a circular configuration, that the term sightrings as employed in this specification refer to other geometric shapessuch as triangles, rectangles, ellipsis which can be used to frame atarget's image.

The sight-rings could as well be die cut from a colored or opaque tapehaving an adhesive backing and individually mounted on the supportplate.

Although the archer need not be concerned with the targets range asmeasured in yards when he is hunting, the preferred range finder can beemployed as a means for determining the targets range by employing thefollowing formula:

Sight circle diameter:

target diameterX eye to sight distance eye to target distance rangefinder 100 comprising a mounting plate 102 having mounting holes 104 forsecuring the plate to a bow.

An elongated, rigid, wire 106 is removably mounted on the plate 102 in agenerally upright position.

A series of spring steel clamping elements 108 are slidably andpivotally mounted on the Wire 106. The outer end of each of the clampingelements 108 is bent as at 110 to engage the inclined edge 112 of theplate 102. The wire 106 is parallel to the inclined edge 112 and acts asa fulcrum for each of the elements 108.

Preferably a screw 114 is carried at the inner end of each of theclamping elements and functions as a means for biasing the outer end ofthe clamping elements toward the plate 102 in the matter of a lever.

A series of metal sighting rings 116, 118, 120, 122 and 124 each havinga shank 126 are clamped to the mounting plate 102 in a verticalalignment by the clamp ing elements 108.

The sighting rings are preferably formed of spring steel and each has apredetermined diameter associated with the image of a target of a givensize at various ranges. Each of the rings can be individually verticallyadjusted in the manner described with reference to the preferredembodiment 16 illustrated in FIGURES l-4.

FIGURE 7 illustrates another form of sighting ring 128 having a shank130 which can also be employed in the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6. Thesighting ring 128 is preferably formed of spring wire.

It is to be understood that I have described in detail a novel form ofrange finder for archery bows which permits the archer to individuallypre-set a series of vertically arranged sighting rings. The preferredembodiments are each formed of a relatively few components which can beeasily and inexpensively manufactured while providing a reliable meansfor sighting a bow for hunting or target shooting.

Although I have described several embodiments of my invention, it is tobe understood that various changes and revisions can be made thereinWithout departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in thescope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. A sight for an archery bow,comprising: (a) a transparent support plate having a flat surface; (b) abracket for mounting said support plate to an intermediate section of anarchery bow, with said flat surface in a vertical plane substantiallynormal to and within the line of sight of an archer using said bow, saidbracket having means permitting said transparent support plate to behorizontally and vertically adjusted relative to the intermediatesection of said archery bow; and (c) a plurality of sight rings, eachhaving a discrete diameter individually adjusta-bly disposed on the flatsurface of said transparent support plate whereby said sight rings aredisposed within the line of sight for an archer using said bow, each ofsaid rings being disposed on said surface in vertical alignment with theother of said sight rings each of said rings having a diametercorresponding to the apparent size presented by a target having apredetermined size at a predetermined range associated with the ring,said sight rings being supported on the support plate in order ofincreasing diameter from the lowermost sight ring to the uppermost sightring. 2. The combination as defined in claim 1, in which said sightrings are removably mounted on the face of said support plate.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1, in which each of the sightrings comprises an opaque ring having an adhesive surface attached tothe face of the support plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,574,599 11/1951 Stieber 33463,056,206 10/1962 Moore 3346 3,234,651 2/ 1966 Rivers. 3,365,800 1/1968Carella 3346- 2,998,811 9/1961 Sackmann 12424 3,225,755 12/ 1965Shankland 124-24 FOREIGN PATENTS 171 10/ 1852 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKI-IAM, Primary Examiner W. R. BROWNE, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R. 124-23

